I have been Cold Water swimming and coaching for 4 years now and in this time “cold water swimming”, “cold water dips”, “ cold water therapy”, “cold water immersion” whichever type you have chosen or are thinking of choosing has become and continues to grow in popularity. Why?? For me…
Open Water Swimming
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Swimming Windermere End to End….
The weekend of Windermere end to end had finally arrived in September 2022, Chillswim mass event. My family and I headed to the beautiful lakes for a long weekend and set up camp. With everything seemingly positive and no weather concerns, receiving an email at 6:30 am on the event…
Open Water Swimming
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Windermere Training Journey (Part 4) – Ullswater
I started a new job on Monday and on Friday I’m heading to Ullswater to swim the length of the lake. This is a practice swim for Windermere. Ullswater is the second longest lake in the Lake District and the event is organised by the same company who are organising…
Open Water Swimming
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Windermere Training Journey (Part 3) – Summer Solstice Swim: the 10k event
5:30 am race starts: Now, I’m an early bird but a 5:30 am race start is very early even for me. Thankfully though, the sunrise was stunning, the wind was calm and the atmosphere was good – nervous but it felt good. After a good meal of carbs the night…
Open Water Swimming
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Windermere Training Journey (Part 2) – training for a 10km event
Open water vs pool sessions: throughout April and May, as the water gets warmer the lake is the best place to be but there is still definite value to be had with a focused pool session once a week. I still need coaching from time to time as I am…
Open Water Swimming
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Windermere Training Journey (Part 1) – the beginnings
How did it come about that I would be attempting to train and swim the length of Windermere?!!! Last year, during a pretty awesome year of Open Water Swim coaching, one of my now good friends who I was coaching through the summer wanted a challenge. We discussed what this…
Health and Fitness
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The benefits of weight/strength training
Incorporating weights/ strength training into your exercise programme can be extremely beneficial. Weight/strength training makes you stronger without “bulking you up”. It also improves fat loss; when you’ve finished your workout your body will carry on burning calories into the day/evening (that’s a no brainier). Weight/strength training defines your body…
Health and Fitness
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The importance of rest and recovery
When you become engrossed in your training programme or any exercise regime it’s important to factor in rest and recovery. Rest is any time spent not training; non-training days are needed to allow your body time to rest and repair. The most significant rest is done whilst we sleep, which…
Health and Fitness
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The benefits of cold water swimming
The list of benefits of cold water swimming are endless. Cold water swimming helps improve your immune system, it reduces inflammation and joint pain making it good for arthritis sufferers. The mental health benefits are huge. Immersing yourself in cold water enables your body to deal with stress much better…